The Microelectronics Revolution Job Displacement and The Future PDF

Chicago-Kent Law Review
Volume 63 | Issue 1 Article 4
April 1987
The Microelectronics Revolution, Job

Displacement, and the Future of Work: A Policy
Commentary
Lewis D. Solomon
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview

Part of the Law Commons
Recommended Citation
Lewis D. Solomon, The Microelectronics Revolution, Job Displacement, and the Future of Work: A Policy Commentary, 63 Chi.-Kent L. Rev.
65 (1987).
Available at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol63/iss1/4
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons @ IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion
in Chicago-Kent Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholarly Commons @ IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. For more information, please
contact dginsberg@kentlaw.iit.edu.
THE MICROELECTRONICS REVOLUTION, JOB
DISPLACEMENT, AND THE FUTURE OF WORK:
A POLICY COMMENTARY
LEWIS D. SOLOMON*
I
We stand at the beginning of the Third Industrial Revolution. In
the First Industrial Revolution mankind learned to plant and harvest.
Replacing the nomadic hunter-gatherer, who spent most of his time dur-
ing the year in pursuit of food, was the farmer. By his husbandry, the
farmer was able to feed himself and several others. Those freed from the
need to feed themselves turned to making other things, to protecting the
land from their enemies, and even to framing laws. The key to the Sec-
ond Industrial Revolution was the invention of steam power which pro-
vided engines for industry and power for transportation. At the end of
the eighteenth century, machines came to replace hand-held tools as a
means of making things, and animals as a means of transportation. The
energy in wood replaced the physical energy of men and animals.
The Third Industrial Revolution is dawning. The key element is
microelectronics technology which replaces moving parts with integrated
circuits and replaces people with chips, robots, and key boards. The
microelectronics revolution substitutes energy in a mental form and can
be introduced in virtually any workplace, whether an office or factory.
The Third Industrial Revolution is destined to have a broad impact.
After surveying the impact of microelectronic technology in produc-
tion operations and offices, this article focuses on the effect of robots and
computers on employment. The introduction of new microelectronic
technology could result in the massive technological unemployment of a
growing number of workers. Millions of Americans may find that their
jobs have been automated and they will not be needed for any job.
Microelectronic technology will, therefore, have a general impact in
society.
Because of the seemingly limitless potential for the displacement of
labor by increasingly efficient machines, the effects of microelectronic
technology on the nature of work and the structure of our institutions
* Lewis D. Solomon, Professor of Law, George Washington University National Law Center.
CHICAGO-KENT LAW REVIEW
and society in the twenty-first century need to be considered.' This essay

marks a beginning of the rethinking of the fundamental societal institu-
tion of work. We need to consider the fundamental assumptions of a
labor-oriented society. Work may be dethroned from its central societal
position and income distributed on a basis other than through jobs. In a
technologically advanced society, "employment," unlike that which we
know today, may exist primarily for self-development and only seconda-
rily for the production of goods and services.
II
Microelectronics technology will impact on both office functions
and production operations. The application of computers to office work
will vastly reduce the need for human labor in producing and processing
information, specifically, in performing tasks such as filing, bookkeeping,
and typing. Information processing in the office, in other words, office
automation, will transform an office system built around paper, memos,
and bulky files. The factory of the future will be totally automated.
Three separate types of technology, computer equipment, robots, and
computer-numerically controlled machines, will be linked together in an
integrated manufacturing process. This section first considers the impact
of microelectronics technology on office functions; the impact on produc-
tion operations is then analyzed.
Advances in microelectronics have already reduced the cost and size
of computers and increased their application to office functions. Offices
have come to rely on intelligent machines, word processors and optical
character readers, which operate in isolation. 2 Microprocessor-based of-
fice machines have increased the productivity of secretaries, typists, and
other clerical workers.
Currently, microelectronics technology in the office is replacing a
paper information system, where paper is an interface medium, with the
electronic storage and transmission of information. The aim of office
automation is the development of an organization which captures infor-
mation only once and later processes, transfers, stores, and accesses the
1. For recent scholarly inquiry into the causes and consequences of technological development
see e.g., N. ROSENBERG, INSIDE THE BLACK Box: TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS (1982); P.
STONEMAN, THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE (1983). See generally Leon-
tief, Technological Advance, Economic Growth, and the Distribution of Income, 9 POPULATION &
DEV. REV. 403, 405 (1983).
2. See, e.g., Liebman, Super- Typewriters: The Word-Processing Industry Has Arrived, BAR-
RON'S, Mar. 31, 1975, at 11; The Office of the Future, Bus. WEEK, June 30, 1975, at 48; Reif, Word
Processing Comes of Age, N.Y. Times, May 4, 1976, § 3, at 5, col. I. See generally Giuliano, The
Mechanization of Office Work, ScI. AM., Sept. 1982, at 148.
MICROELECTRONICS REVOLUTION
information with a minimum of human intervention-the hoped for

"paperless office."
In the office of the future, microelectronic technology and optics
technology 3 will be joined. Separate electronic systems will be integrated
by means of high speed communications networks allowing users to
share data processing, to share access to central information storage fa-4
cilities, and to speed the flow of information within the organization.
All information generated within a plant or a firm will be available for
use by people, machines, and computers quickly, inexpensively, and ac-
curately. These integrated electronic information systems will enable or-
ganizations to capture, process, transfer, store, and access information
with a minimum of human intervention. As smaller and more flexible
systems become available and start-up costs drop, the utilization of inte-
grated systems will spread beyond corporate offices employing large
numbers of white collar workers.
As a result of office automation, office productivity has and will con-
tinue to increase. Computers increase the amount of work performed by
each office worker and enable a firm to expand the volume of its transac-
tions with little or no growth in white collar employment. Administra-
tors, engineers, and managers will be able to do office work themselves,
with significantly fewer or even no support personnel. For example, a
microcomputer enables staff members to compose reports, transmit them
to supervisors and subordinates, receive comments, and make changes-
all without paper. Computer software enables managers to perform com-
plex mathematical calculations and to examine alternatives and combina-
tions of numbers.
Machine control in the factory will become increasingly dependent
on a variety of computers-from the increasingly familiar desk top
micro-computers to the traditional, large mainframe computers. Com-
puter-based equipment on the factory floor will be linked together. Com-
puters will control entire production systems. A plant's computer
communications network will monitor the functioning of equipment and
schedule the plant for the most efficient operation.
3. For example, fiber optics cables provide greater telephone call handling capabilities than
coaxial cables and microwave relays. Semiconductor light sources will provide high speed telecom-
munications transmission. Riche, Impact of New Electronic Technology, MONTHLY LAB. REV.,
Mar. 1982, at 38. Computers are also used in telephone call switching and signal transmission
thereby facilitating telecommunications.
4. See, e.g., Office Automation Restructures Business, Bus. WEEK, Oct. 4, 1984, at 118; Tan-
nebaum & Bulkeley, Device Makers Dream of Electronic Offices, But Obstacles Remain, Wall St. J.,
Mar. 13, 1981, at 1, col. 1; Applications: Voice MailArrives in the Office, BUS. WEEK, June 9, 1980,
at 80. See generally Drucker, Managingthe Information Explosion, Wall St. J., Apr. 10, 1980, at 24,
col. 4.
A key development in production operations and machinery is the

robot. A robot is a reprogrammable manipulator which moves materials,
parts, tools, or specialized devices through human-designed programmed
motions.5 Programmed motions are stored in a memory device and may
6
be varied to perform different tasks, such as loading and unloading.
Although industrial robots vary in function and complexity, a robot ge-
nerically consists of four components: 1) the manipulator, which in-
cludes the robot frame and mechanical parts; 2) the controller, which
determines the sequence of motions by the robot so that an assigned task
is performed repeatedly at the same pace and accuracy (in complex ro-
bots these motions are programmed with microprocessors); 3) the grip-
per (or arm), a mechanical, magnetic, or vacuum device which handles
parts or other materials; and 4) a motor, which drives or powers the
7
robot.
Businesses use robots in diverse production processes including
welding, painting, assembling mechanical and electrical parts, forging,
machine loading and unloading, manipulating tools, and machine tend-
ing (cutting and drilling). To date, investments in robots have been made
primarily to replace unattractive, and often dangerous, jobs in foundries
8
and for welding and painting operations in auto assembly.
Looming on the horizon is the introduction of more sophisticated,
more intelligent robots capable of performing machine loading and as-
sembling functions and other more complex tasks. 9 Although welding
and painting take place in many industries, assembly of machines and
other parts is even more widespread and accounts for the greatest "single
share of industrial workers and manufacturing costs." 10 Ultimately, ro-
bots will build other robots.
5. In lay terms, a robot reproduces a range of motions for which it has been programmed.
6. Robot Institute of America, Robotics Today, RIA NEWS, Spring 1980, at 7, quoted in
STAFF OF SUBCOMM. ON MONETARY AND FISCAL POLICY OF THE JOINT ECONOMIC COMM., 97TH
CONG., 2D SESS., STAFF STUDY: ROBOTICS AND THE ECONOMY 4 (Jt. Comm. Print 1982) [herein-
after STAFF STUDY].
7. Computerized ManufacturingAutomation: Employment, Education,and the Workplace, 50
(Washington, D.C., U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, OTA-CIT-235, April 1984)
[hereinafter OTA].
8. For example, in the mid 1980's, spot welding accounted for 35 to 45 percent of all robots
installed in the United States; handling of materials, arc welding, and paint spraying accounted for,
respectively, 25 to 30 percent, 5 to 8 percent, and 8 to 12 percent of all U.S. robots. Draper, The
Golden Arm, N.Y. REV. OF BOOKS, Oct. 24, 1985, at 46, 47. In 1980, the U.S. auto industry bought
90% of the industrial robots sold in the U.S., mostly for welding. By 1985, 5 out of every 10 robots
were sold to customers other than auto plants. Wall St. J., Aug. 8, 1985, at 1, col. 5.
9. These complex tasks include leather manufacturing, shoe manufacturing, rubber process-
ing, asbestos processing, plastics processing, and food processing. R. AYRES & S. MILLER, ROBOT-
ICS: APPLICATIONS AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS 59-60 (1983).
10. Draper, supra note 8, at 48. See also OTA, supra note 7, at 52, 54-56.
A number of reasons exist for businesses to install robots in facto-

ries."1 Robots reduce labor costs, 1 2 and eliminate unpleasant, tedious,
and dangerous jobs. In addition, automation increases the rate of out-
put 1 3 and product quality.14 Finally, robot production results in a sav-
ings of materials.' 5 However, the rate at which businesses presently
install robots depends mainly on the ability of robots to reduce labor
costs. 16
The second major development in microelectronics technology for
the factory is computer-numerically controlled machinery. A machine
tool is a power drive machine designed to produce parts and cut and
form metal.' 7 Metal cutting machine tools consist of boring, turning
(lathe), drilling and milling machines. Metal forming machine tools in-
clude presses, forges, bending, punching and forming machines. In the
1950's, numerically-controlled machine tools were developed. A conven-
tional machine tool depends on a human operator; manual operation is
not necessary with a numerically-controlled machine tool which is con-
trolled by programmed instruction on tape and follows a predetermined
sequence of steps.' 8 By the early 1980's, almost all numerically-con-
trolled machines consisted of computer-numerically controlled machin-
ery, in other words, computer-controlled machine tools. A visual display
terminal (cathode ray terminal) and programming capability at the
machine replaced taped instruction. The use of computer-numerically
controlled machines reduced programming inflexibility and maintenance
problems of the tapes. 19
Finally, computer equipment throughout a firm will be linked to-
gether in the future. Computer-numerically controlled machines will be
linked to other programmable machines, e.g. robots, on the plant floor of
a factory and a computer communications network will monitor produc-
11. R. AYRES & S. MILLER, supra note 9, at 70-78.

12. Experts emphasize the substantial hourly robot ($6.00 per hour in 1982)-human costs
($20.00 per hour in 1981 for the auto industry production workers) differential. Id. at 70-73.
13. The trade literature frequently mentions output increases of over 100% for specific applica-
tion. Id. at 75-76.
14. Id. at 76-77.
15. Significant material savings have been achieved in a few applications, such as spray paint-
ing. Id. at 77-78.
16. R. AYRES & S. MILLER, supra note 9, at 70-71, 73; J. ENGELBERGER, ROBOTICS IN PRAC-
TICE 103 (1980).
17. Unlike a robot, which is programmed to perform a range of motions, microelectronics tech-
nology traditionally has not been programmed.
18. D. NOBLE, FORCES OF PRODUCTION: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
(1984); Pura, Japanese Electronic "Smart" Tools Are Gaining in Europe and the U.s., Wall St. J.,
Apr. 15, 1981, at 33, col. 5.
19. OTA, supra note 7, at 57-60.
tion. Computer-assisted design and engineering will be integrated with

manufacturing. 20 Using computer-aided design equipment, engineers
will design and redesign any type of large or small product on a com-
puter screen with the system producing the final working drawings. In
an automated factory, robots will perform operations which now require
human skills. Computers will manage complete systems consisting of
multiple operations. There will be automatic inventory, tool manage-
ment, finishing, assembly, and inspection of goods. Automatic factories
will make components for other automatic factories. In a "peopleless
factory," machines will interact with each other with little or no human
intervention; humans will be relegated to monitoring and repairing the
automated machines. Robots and computer-aided machines will work
with a speed and precision never before achieved.
In the totally automated, so-called flexible manufactory, all the
equipment will be linked in a computerized network tying together plan-
ning, design, production, inventory, and quality control. 2 1 The various
functions will make use of extensive computerized data bases which will
be shared across all facets of production. Computers will perform the
following functions: 1) design products for ease of manufacture; 2) have
suppliers deliver all materials in a form that can be handled by machines;
3) control the position of all parts at all times to simplify robot handling
and inspection; 4) link robots and machine tools into manufacturing
cells; and 5) integrate factory production facilities with office planning
and control functions.
A flexible manufacturing system will reduce labor and material
costs, aid in developing new products more quickly, promote substan-
tially higher quality and reliability of products, allow small quantities of
goods to be produced inexpensively, and permit rapid changeovers in
production. 22 These advances will benefit the flexible manufacturing sys-
tem in the form of reduced costs, a shorter production cycle, and signifi-
20. Id. at 43-48; R. AYRES & S. MILLER, supra note 9, at 48-57; Gunn, The Mechanization of
Design and Manufacturing, ScI. Am., Sept. 1982, at 115.
21. OTA, supra note 7, at 60, 62, 64-66, 71-74. See generally H. SHAIKEN, WORK TRANS-
FORMED: AUTOMATION AND LABOR IN THE COMPUTER AGE (1985); BUSINESS-HIGHER EDUCA-
TION FORUM, THE NEW MANUFACTURING: AMERICA'S RACE TO AUTOMATE 14-15 (1984). See
also Holusha, G.M. 'Factory of the Future' Will Run With Robots, N.Y. Times, Oct. 20, 1984, at 29,
col. 1; Broad, U.S. FactoriesReach Into the Future, N.Y. Times, Mar. 13, 1984, at Cl, col. 3; Lohr,
New in Japan: The Manless Factory, N.Y. Times, Dec. 13, 198 1, § 3, at Fl; The Speedup in Automa-
tion: Spreading Through the Factory, Bus. WEEK, Aug. 3, 1981, at 58; Findingthe Missing Link in
Automation, Bus. WEEK, June 17, 1985, at 39; Holusha, StandardizingComputer Talk, N.Y. Times,
Sept. 13, 1984, at D2, col. 1; Rowen, Japan Seizes the Lead in Robotics, Wash. Post, Apr. 10, 1983,
at Fl, col. 3; Lehner & Marcom, Auto Automation, Wall St. J., July 9, 1984, at 1, col. 6; Salisbury,
The Coming Industrial Revolution, CHRISTIAN SCI. MONITOR, Nov. 20, 1984, at 37, col. I.
22. R. AYRES & S. MILLER, supra note 9, at 84-90.
cant competitive advantages in the international market. Ultimately,

firms will link computers and telecommunications, thereby integrating
many separate functions in the factory and the office as well as coordinat-
ing functions in ways that are beyond human capability in terms of
speed, volume, accuracy, and endurance. Machines, people, and infor-
mation will be joined into efficient business units. New products and
processes will combine the power of computers and communications.
III
The major thrust of this article is on employment, specifically,
whether machines will completely replace human labor. As could well
be expected, the topic of whether technology creates more jobs than it
destroys divides analysts into two camps-the optimists and the
pessimists.
Optimistic observers view the microelectronics revolution with little,
if any, concern for its effect on employment. As one observer noted,
"[t]here is, of course, not a scrap of evidence in either theory or history to
suggest that technological development won't increase employment and
real incomes today just as it always has."'23 The technological optimists
reason along four lines: macroeconomic growth, benefits to individual
firms, creation of new jobs, and labor force trends.
First, and most importantly, the optimists reason that employment
in other areas of the economy will expand to provide new jobs. Aggre-
gate economic growth will generate sufficient new jobs to absorb those
displaced in other economic sectors. The development of new high tech-
nology products and services may foster economic growth which will, in
turn, create more jobs.
Second, on an individual firm level, technological change can signifi-
cantly reduce the costs of production, reduce the time needed to produce
a given unit of output, and improve the quality of goods. As a result,
total demand for a firms' output may increase. The resulting expansion
of production may increase employment at the individual firm level.
23. Bartlett, The Luddite Answer to Unemployment, Wall St. J., July 18, 1983, at 18, col. 3. See
also N. GINGRICH, WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY: A BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE 88 (1984)
("Every major technological breakthrough, from internal-combustion engines to computers, has ulti-
mately created jobs."); STAFF STUDY, supra note 6, at 3. Some experts have concluded that planning
for massive job displacement resulting from a robot population explosion, at least over the next five
to ten years, would be an inappropriate national priority. Technology and Employment: Joint Hear-
ings Before the Subcomm. on Science, Research and Technology of the House Comm. on Science and
Technology and the Task Force on Education and Employment of the House Comm. on the Budget,
98th Cong., 1st Sess. 330, 338 (1983) (statement of Marc Bendick, Director for the Program on
Economic Change and the American Workforce, Urban Institute).
However, the optimists fail to mention that even if the number of jobs
increase, the requisite skill levels may significantly change. The auto-
mated factory or office needs a different, more sophisticated workforce.
Third, the automation of labor-intensive assembly line work may
bring jobs back to the United States that migrated overseas and help keep
such jobs in the United States. The decreasing fraction of the product
price attributable to labor should reduce the low wage advantage of for-
24
eign countries. Automation as found in flexible manufacturing systems
will also assist United States industries in fighting foreign competition.
Furthermore, new jobs will be created for those who will design,
build, install, program, operate and repair the new technological devices.
Additional computer programmers will be needed to program the in-
creasing number of computers and robot technicians will be needed to
test, program, install, maintain, and troubleshoot robots. 25 The contin-
ued growth of the service sector, especially health care and other per-
sonal services, may also provide future job opportunities for displaced
workers.
Finally, favorable demographic trends hearten the technological op-
timists. 26 The American labor force will increase at a smaller rate, en-
abling the economy to absorb both the new entrants and those displaced
by technology.
Pessimists view the microelectronics revolution with alarm. They
point to an adverse impact of automation on the work force. The loss of
jobs raises ominous prospects for the future, as human labor may be re-
placed by machines. One estimate places the number of unemployed at
thirty to fifty percent of the work force by the end of the twentieth cen-
tury. Demographic growth and the increasing percentage of women
seeking gainful employment may produce a higher figure in certain west-
ern nations. 2 7 This negative view of the impact of microelectronics tech-
24. See supra text accompanying note 22; cf. Feder, New Challenge in Automation, N.Y. Times,
Oct. 30, 1986, at D2, col. 1.
25. H. HUNT & T. HUNT, HUMAN RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS OF ROBOTICS 105-63 (1983).
26. For a useful introduction see Drucker, Demographics and American Economic Policy, in
TOWARD NEW U.S. INDUSTRIAL POLICY (M. Wachter & S. Wachter ed. 1981).
27. A. GORZ, PATHS TO PARADISE: ON THE LIBERATION FROM WORK 31 (1983). In G.
SCHWARTZ & W. NEIKIRK, THE WORK REVOLUTION 24 (1983), the authors estimate that after
1990, when current technology has gone through more than half its expected development, it will
take perhaps only 75% of the work force to do 100% of the work. The report of one prestigious
group states that as a result of the utilization of integrated, computer-controlled production
processes, labor requirements per unit of output will be only a fraction of current levels, conserva-
tively being reduced by a factor of one-third, in many cases, much more. BUSINESS-HIGHER EDU-
CATION FORUM, THE NEW MANUFACTURING; AMERICA'S RACE TO AUTOMATE 15-16 (1984).
Estimates point to a significant decline in employment in Western Europe as a result of the introduc-
tion of microelectronic technology. See, e.g., FearsofHigher Unemployment in Europe, Bus. WEEK,
nology on employment is premised on several arguments.

First, the economy will increasingly be unable to absorb displaced
workers 28 because of the simultaneous impact of the new technology on
all sectors of the economy. The analogy of the internal-combustion en-
gine to microelectronics technology, offered by technological optimists, is
probably fallacious. 29 The internal-combustion engine, a disaster for
blacksmiths and buggy manufacturers, proved a source of jobs in the au-
tomobile industry. However, displaced blacksmiths and buggy makers
could turn to an economy requiring manual workers. Robots and office
automation cut the need for labor. The new technologies will likely have
a widespread potential impact throughout the economy. Past technologi-
cal changes eliminated unskilled physical labor in agriculture and some
areas of manufacturing and to a lesser extent, skilled labor in some crafts.
New microelectronics technologies, which permit computer-based ma-
chines to perform higher-order mental tasks, threaten jobs in the factory
and the office. New technologies endanger higher level, mental jobs as
well as lower level, physical jobs.
Second, the shifting skill requirements create a mismatch between
the skills required in the new jobs created and the backgrounds and capa-
bilities of unemployed persons. The ability of the service sector to absorb
displaced workers will diminish. The utilization of computer and tele-
communications technology will result in a reduced demand for labor in
the service sector. Service firms may join the race to automate. The util-
ization of microelectronics technology, such as computers, electronic
mail, and electronic banking, may eliminate service jobs. Computer
technology will enable service firms, for instance, banks and insurance
companies, to expand operations and still maintain or reduce the number
of personnel. Computers will enable service firms to communicate with
customers, process sales and claims, and file reports and information. In
short, it is not a given that new service jobs will spring into existence to
absorb displaced workers. Word processors, electronic scanners, and
computer-aided design equipment will transform service industries so
that they may also employ fewer workers in the United States even if the
service sector of the economy continues to grow.
Third, the capacity to produce goods and services through automa-
tion will outstrip the increased demand for goods and services. The pes-
Aug. 3, 1981, at 66 (one study projected that microelectronics would produce a 25% decline by 1995
in wholesale and retail trade employment in England and a 31% decline in insurance, banking, and
finance).
28. Those displaced may perform mental or physical tasks.
29. See generally I. AsIMov & K. FRANKEL, RoaOTS: MACHINES IN MAN'S IMAGE (1985).
simists express doubts as to whether the economy will grow at a sufficient

rate to generate jobs eliminated by technology. In addition, businesses
face increasing costs to create each new job. a0 As the costs of labor in-
crease and the costs of goods, especially computers, decrease, production
of the economy's output will require more capital and less labor. The
continued substitution of capital for labor in the production of goods and
services will require the economy to grow by a greater amount to pro-
duce each new job in the future. Whether the economy can achieve and
sustain this increased rate of growth is doubtful.
Fourth, the new technologies may not produce an abundance of new
jobs. How many robot repair jobs will be created in view of the improved
quality of robots? For example, using sensing devices and computer pro-
grams which analyze data, computer-aided diagnostic equipment will di-
agnose machine malfunctions. Mechanics or unskilled personnel will
replace a failed part or make a prescribed adjustment obviating the need
for a large crew of robot technicians. Thus, the net increase in the
number of jobs involving the operation, service, and maintenance of au-
tomated technology is likely to be small because most work probably will
be handled by a firm's existing production and maintenance labor pool.
Fifth, firms may continue the trend of decentralizing complex man-
ufacturing operations throughout the world. Combining computers with
telecommunications allows production to be decentralized globally
where costs are lowest and conditions most favorable to the manufac-
turer. For example, automated inspection machinery reduces the cost of
screening-out poor quality components, thereby encouraging businesses
to farm out production of standardized parts to developing nations.
Thus, the number of new jobs in America may decrease.
This brief survey of the arguments of technological optimists and
pessimists quickly bogs down in a number of variables. Neither the opti-
mistic nor pessimistic arguments categorically anticipate the effects of the
following:
1) the rate of economic growth in the United States and worldwide;
2) changes in consumer income (personal income growth) and con-
sumer tastes; 31
3) labor force demographics, including the labor participation rate,
and immigration trends;
30. The increased costs consist of direct wage and fringe benefit costs and the capital required
to provide new, automated equipment.
31. The labor participation rate focuses on the number of people who want to work relative to
the size of the adult population.
4) the decisions of multinational corporations 32 and the competitive

position of United States firms in the world economy;
5) the rate of diffusion and installment of new technology;3433 and
6) the impact of United States government trade policies.
In short, predictions with respect to the impact of microelectronics
technology on employment are difficult because of widescale political and
economic vagaries. We turn next to efforts to quantify the extent of fu-
ture job displacement.
IV
The first systematic study of the effects of computer automation on
the U.S. labor forces uses the dynamic input-output model 35 created by
nobel laureate Wassily Leontief. The input-output model constitutes a
representation of eighty-nine individual industries and fifty-three differ-
ent occupations. 36 Because the model is dynamic, it provides employ-
ment trends, output levels, and investment pictures over the years 1963
to 2000. The input-output model enables analysts to assess in greater
detail the impact of microelectronic advances on changes in the demand
for labor. As further developed in this section of the article, the potential
for job loss during the remainder of this century resulting from the diffu-
32. Key decisions of multinational corporations include, for example, the location of produc-
tion facilities.
33. Technological advances may increase the applications of microelectronics technology. The
rate of diffusion of the new technology depends on how rapidly technical, financial, and social barri-
ers to automation are overcome. Technical barriers include: lack of technical expertise to design
and implement new technologies; problems and costs of developing software to make the systems
operate efficiently; absence of the requisite standardizations; shortage of qualified persons to design,
operate, and service automated equipment and systems. Financial barriers flow from the need to
invest capital in new equipment. The adoption of microelectronics technology is not costless. The
financial barriers include: the cost of the new equipment; interest rates; the availability of capital;
short-range focus of businesses, which generally wish to recoup the cost of the equipment in three
years; capital investment considerations (cash flow position of the company and the risks involved in
investing in new equipment); and the rate of capacity utilization. The social barriers are founded on
human resistance to change. Union, managerial and institutional inertia slows the adoption of
microelectronics technology.
34. United States trade policies are designed to stimulate American exports and stem the trend
of plant relocations to overseas locations. In addition, policies which promote research and develop-
ment of microelectronics technology must also be considered.
35. For background on input-output models, see R. MILLER & P. BLAIR, INPUT-OUTPUT
ANALYSIS: FOUNDATIONS AND EXTENSIONS 1-31, 340-51 (1985).
36. W. LEONTIEF & F. DUCHIN, THE IMPACTS OF AUTOMATION ON EMPLOYMENT, 1963-
2000 3.5-3.6, 3.30-3.31 (April 1984) (Institute for Economic Analysis, N.Y. Univ.). The 89 individ-
ual industries include livestock and livestock products, coal mining, construction, apparel, printing
and publishing, petroleum refining construction and mining machinery, electronic computing equip-
ment, household appliances, motor vehicles and equipment, retail trade, insurance, eating and drink-
ing places, hospitals, and robotics manufacturing. Id. app. at 16-38.
The 53 different occupations include various types of engineers, computer programmers, medi-
cal personnel, secretaries, cashiers, plumbers, machinists, painters, janitors, and farmers (and farm
workers). Id. app. at 2-15.
sion of microelectronic technology appears to be much less than pessi-

mists fear.
Relationships between industries are modeled in a dynamic fashion;
changes in those relationships are estimated on a yearly basis. The input-
output model, being dynamic, allows the impact of computer-related
technology to filter through all the industries and occupations included
in the model. Output and employment levels in one industry are linked
with changes in other industries. Reactions in one industry or occupa-
tion can affect other sectors of the economy. As a result of supply, de-
mand, and institutional relationships, this chain of events may impact,
via a feedback effect, on the original industry or occupation that com-
37
menced the ripple.
The input-output model approximates the dollar value of various
inputs needed to produce a given dollar value of various outputs. For
any given output, the input-output model provides a percentage distribu-
tion of all required inputs. A separate employment requirements table is
used to generate employment estimates. The employment requirements
table provides the specific labor inputs needed by an industry to produce
a given output level. The model accounts for changes in capital require-
ments, including replacement capital and expansion capital, related to
new technologies. 38 The model also uses the projected labor requirements
for changing capital to derive occupational employment.
Leontief-Duchin have depicted the capital formation process and
the spread of new technology by numerous equations in an attempt to
represent what researchers know about the various sectors of the U.S.
economy based on actual data. 39 The "guts" of the Leontief-Duchin in-
put-output model are four matrices, denominated A, B, R, and L. 40 The
A matrix represents the input requirements of each industry to meet cur-
rent consumption. The B matrix captures the capital expansion of vari-
ous industries. The R matrix pictures the capital replacement
requirements of each industry.4 I The labor inputs needed by various in-
dustries are modeled in the L matrix.4 2 A series of columns (so-called
vectors) are designed to represent non-investment final demand, includ-
37. Id. at 2.1-2.14; R. MILLER & P. BLAIR, supra note 35, at 1-31, 340-51. See generally W.
LEONTIEF, THE STRUCTURE OF AMERICAN ECONOMY 1919-1939 (2d ed. 1951).
38. For example, robots, computer, and office automation equipment.
39. W. LEONTIEF & F. DUCHIN, supra note 36, at ch. 3.
40. Id. at 1.7, 3.19-3.32.
41. The A, B, and R matrices draw on input-output related studies undertaken by the U.S.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Id. at 1.7, 3.19-3.32.
42. The L matrix uses input-output related research of the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau
of Labor Statistics. Id. at 1.7.
43
ing household and government consumption, and net exports.
Since the model is dynamic, the matrices and vectors will shift over
time. In particular, the introduction and diffusion of microelectronics
technology will alter the matrices. Different industries will respond dif-
ferently to the introduction of new microelectronic technology. The ad-
44
justment of each matrix and vector requires separate studies.
Before discussing the Leontief-Duchin findings, several caveats are
in order. Historical relationships, even if correctly estimated, may be
altered by unpredictable future events. Also, the impact of the introduc-
tion and use of new technology on a particular industry may be difficult
to capture in a model.
The Leontief-Duchin projections are premised on baseline compari-
sons. For this type of analysis, Leontief-Duchin created a reference sce-
nario. 45 This reference (or baseline) scenario is premised on the
assumption that further technological innovation or automation would
not occur after 1980. Although the final demand for goods and services
by households, businesses, and governmental units was allowed to grow
between 1978 and 2000, these demand forces could only be satisfied by
the technology in existence in 1980. After constructing this baseline sce-
nario, the dynamic input-output model generated estimates for a scenario
incorporating the rapid adoption and broad use of available technologies
during the balance of the twentieth century.4 6 Thus, the impact of tech-
nology on labor demand, in the aggregate and in various occupations,
can be assessed.
Under the "rapid adoption" scenario and the intensive use of auto-
mation, 20 million fewer workers would be required to produce the same
47
level and combination of goods and services as in the baseline scenario.
Despite the potential problems raised by a shortfall in the demand for
labor of this magnitude, Leontief and Duchin offer the following caution-
ary notes:
43. The final demand vectors use information from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the
U.S. Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor
together with private sector studies. Id. at 3.3-3.19.
44. Leontief and Duchin investigated the studies undertaken by the Bureau of Economic Anal-
ysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics, which cover relationships existing in the mid-1970's, to ascertain
how the matrices shifted over a number of years. These investigations were supplemented (and
updated) by specific sectorial investigations undertaken by Leontief and Duchin. Id. at ch. 3.
45. Id. at 1.10-1.11.
46. Id. at 1.11.
47. Id. at 1.15. The 20 million fewer workers equals 11.4% less labor. See also CONG. RE-
SEARCH SERVICE, 99TH CONG., 1ST SESS., THE COMPUTER REVOLUTION AND THE U.S. LABOR
FORCE, A STUDY PREPARED FOR THE USE OF THE HOUSE SUBCOMM. ON OVERSIGHT AND INVES-
TIGATIONS OF THE HOUSE COMM. ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 10, n.11 (Comm. Print 1985).
Based on the findings ... it is not yet possible to pass a final verdict on
the question of technological unemployment by the year 2000. Tech-
nological changes taken into account . . . have been limited to com-
puter-based automation. To arrive at a verdict, it will be necessary to
ascertain by means of equally detailed factual inquiry.., other types
of change that are bound to take place.... Moreover, we have explic-
itly excluded from our scenarios any major breakthroughs in computer
technology that might affect significant numbers of workers before the
year 2000. While it is likely to be at least twenty years before products
embodying future breakthroughs in areas such as automatic program-
ming, speech recognition, or robot vision are actually
48 adopted on a
large scale, some surprises are certainly possible.
Other observers draw more optimistic conclusions from these find-
ings. They point out that the more than 11% reduction in the labor
required to produce a specified level of goods and services must be bal-
anced against other forces. The rapid adoption of new technology would
permit the U.S. economy to produce more goods and services in compar-
ison to the baseline scenario. The rapid adoption scenario would also
allow personal and government consumption of goods and services to
increase in the 1980's by approximately 2% per year (after adjustment
for inflation) more than the baseline scenario and between 1.1 and 0.5%
faster in the 1990's. 4 9 The increased consumption and thus demand for
goods and services, even in the context of increasing unemployment,
could still increase the demand for U.S. labor. In short, despite the intro-
duction of new microelectronic technology, the American economy may
generate sufficient jobs to enable the aggregate demand for labor to be in
balance with the quantity of labor supplied in the year 2000.
Microelectronic advances will not uniformly impact on all parts of
the U.S. labor force. The relative composition of employment in the
United States will experience significant changes from 1978 to 2000. The
big winner would be professionals. Under the rapid adoption scenario,
professionals, who represented 15.6% of U.S. employment in 1978, could
account for approximately 20% of U.S. employment by 2000.50 In other
words, the "rapid adoption" scenario would require 21.5% more
professionals.
Production workers will also likely increase their share of the U.S.
labor force between 1978 and 2000. The employment share of crafts peo-
ple, operatives, and laborers represented 33.9% of U.S. employment in
1978. By 2000, their relative employment share could account for 37%
48. W. LEONTIEF & F. DUCHIN, supra note 36, at 1.31-1.33.

49. CONG. RESEARCH SERVICE, supra note 47, at 1. These consumption estimates result only
from the adoption of new microelectronic technology; no other structural changes are assumed.
50. W. LEONTIEF & F. DUCHIN, supra note 36, at 1.16.
of U.S. employment. 5 1 Direct displacement by the utilization of

microelectronics technology (for example, robots) will, thus, be offset by
increased investment for capital goods, particularly computers, which
will probably raise the demand for production workers.
Certain groups in the U.S. labor force may be adversely affected by
the microelectronics revolution. Hardest hit by microelectronic automa-
tion would be clerical workers and managers who may experience a 40%
drop in labor requirements.5 2 The relative reduction in the demand for
clerical workers and managers could require a massive transfer out of
these occupations and into other fields. The likely decline in the number
of clerical and managerial jobs may result in a mismatch between people
seeking employment and the employment opportunities that will exist.
However, service workers may account for a 2.3% increase in U.S. em-
ployment by 200053 and sales workers and farmers will likely represent
the same percentage of U.S. workers in the year 2000, as they did in
54
1978.
Commenting on the projected decline in demand for clerical work-
ers and managers, Leontief and Duchin note:
Let us suppose that there is an adequate total number of individuals to
fill... jobs, but that because of very slow change in the orientation of
education, training, guidance, and so on, these individuals' skills and
occupational expectations will reflect the mix of jobs that corresponded
to the technologies that were in place in 1978 .... Under these as-
sumptions, 744,000 managers... and over five million clerical workers
could be potentially unemployed in 1990 while there would be unfilled
positions . . . in other aggregate occupational categories. Of course
some of those seeking managerial and clerical employment would be
able to find jobs of other
55
kinds but with obvious limitations on the
degree of job mobility.
Beyond the projected demand for labor in the aggregate and by vari-
ous occupations, the diffusion of microelectronics technology raises three
other issues: 1) the impact on wage levels and income distribution; 2) ge-
51. Id. at 1.17. The relative share of U.S. employment of crafts people may increase from
13.3% in 1978 to 15.0% in 2000. Id. Operatives and laborers also show relative employment gains
from 1978 to 2000 from 15.7 and 4.9%, respectively, to 16.5 and 5.5%. Id.
52. In 1978 clerical workers comprised 17.8% of U.S. employment; clerical workers' relative
share of U.S. jobs may plummet to 11.4% in 2000. Id. During the balance of this century, clerical
workers will likely experience the largest percentage decline in employment. Over 30% of the U.S.
female work force is employed in clerical occupations. Women could be particularly impacted by
the transformation predicted by Leontief and Duchin. Managers could also encounter significant
declines in their relative share, from 9.5 to 7.2%, of U.S. employment. Id.
53. Service workers who accounted for 12.4% of U.S. employment in 1978, could occupy
14.7% of U.S. jobs by 2000. Id.
54. Id.
55. Id. at 1.33-1.35.
ographical aspects of job displacement; and 3) changes in the character of

jobs. Further research must be undertaken to assess the income distribu-
tion of individuals and facilities in the United States as a result of the
56
introduction and dissemination of new microelectronics technology.
The Leontief-Duchin input-output model presently does not include
equations which could be used to make this prediction.
The Leontief-Duchin model may, however, be used to analyze the
United States job hierarchy in terms of occupation structure, status and
stratification. 57 This type of analysis is based on dividing the U.S. work
force into three groups: upper level occupations (professional and tech-
nical workers, managers, officials, and proprietors); middle level occupa-
tions (sales workers, clerical workers, and craft workers); and lower level
occupations (operatives, service workers, laborers, farmers and farm
workers). The projection derived from the Leontief-Duchin model
points to shrinkage of the number of people employed in middle level
positions and a corresponding expansion of the number of upper and
lower level positions.5 8 By the year 2000, upper level occupations could
increase 1.9% from 1978. 59 The middle level could decline 4.8% from
1978 and the lower level could increase 3.9%. 60 In short, the microelec-
tronics revolution may contribute to the changing income distribution in
the United States and the polarizing of the population into low income
and high income groups.
The geographical aspects of job displacement must also be consid-
ered. For example, the growing use of robots over the next five to ten
years will probably have a concentrated impact on highly paid, semi-
56. See Leontief, The Distribution of Work and Income, ScI. AM., Sept. 1982, at 188; Cyert,
Easing Labor's Transition Trauma, N.Y. Times, July 22, 1984, § 3, at 3, col. 1.
57. E. GOODE, SOCIOLOGY 433-54 (1984).
58. See B. BLUESTONE & B. HARRISON, THE DEINDUSTRIALIZATION OF AMERICA 55-61
(1982). The theory that middle-income jobs are being destroyed thereby threatening the very essence
of middle-class society in the United States remains controversial. See Samuelson, Demolishing a
Myth, Wash. Post, June 26, 1985, at D1, col. 1 (distribution of earnings along occupations has
remained stable); Lawrence, Stubborn Demographics: The Middle Class is Alive and Well, N.Y.
Times, June 23, 1985, § 3, at 3 (problem is demographic). See generally Kuttner, A Shrinking Mid-
dle Class Is a Call For Action, Bus. WEEK, Sept. 16, 1985, at 16. Service jobs which do not require
much specialized training have traditionally paid less than manufacturing jobs. Will the majority of
service sector jobs remain low paying or will increased capital investment in the service sector boost
productivity and wages? See generally H. BRAVERMAN, LABOR AND MONOPOLY CAPITAL (1974),
who argued that as technology advanced in the past, it was used to displace labor selectively, with
the most highly skilled, most independent, and best paid workers let go first. In the long run, com-
puter based machines are likely to displace higher order mental jobs (especially high wage jobs).
59. W. LEONTIEF & F. DucCiN, supra note 36, at 1.17. In 1978, approximately 25% of U.S.
jobs were upper level occupations, almost 38% of U.S. jobs were in the middle level and 36% were in
the lower level. Id.
60. Id. By the year 2000, projections indicate that 27% of U.S. jobs will be upper level jobs,
32.9% will be in the middle level and 40.1% will be in the lower level.
skilled workers doing routine jobs in metalworking and other traditional

industries. One-half of all metal working employment in the United
States is located in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. 6'
The concentration of semi-skilled workers in an economically troubled
region increases their economic vulnerability. Displaced workers find it
difficult to move elsewhere if they live in cities with a declining economic
base and encounter no buyers for their homes where their meager savings
are tied up. These states, especially Michigan, will likely experience a
greater than proportionate impact of robots on employment over the
next decade.
Finally, the result of microelectronics technology could be few
"good" jobs 62
and many "bad" jobs. 63 In terms of working conditions,
computer-based machines will eliminate the need for individuals to work
in hazardous or demanding situations. However, health and safety
problems may be associated with the new technology. For example, the
use of video display terminals may contribute to visual and musculoskel-
etal problems, and radiation damage may result from long-term exposure
to low levels of radiation. 64
The levels of skills, autonomy, and authority must also be consid-
ered. Will the jobs created by technological advances be more or less
skilled than the jobs eliminated? Will the impact of technology on ex-
isting jobs raise or lower the requisite work skills? It is unclear whether
the general character of computer-based jobs will tend to be more crea-
tive, with increased worker autonomy, discretion and decision making.
In other words, will the new technology eliminate boring and mundane
jobs? Strong work motivations can occur if individuals are given the op-
portunity to manage, not just monitor, a process.
On the other hand, because the computer has the capacity to handle
higher order decision-making normally assigned to an individual, work
may become more routinized, with skills removed (or reduced) from a
wide range of occupations and new forms of computer monitoring and
control widely used. 65 De-skilling of jobs may result in the further frag-
61. R. AYRES & S. MILLER, supra note 9, at 212-17. See also H. HUNT & T. HUNT, supra note
25, at 85, 87, 89-90 (job displacement in Michigan).
62. The term "good" jobs connotes a high level of skills, autonomy and authority.
63. The term "bad" jobs connotes a low level of skills, autonomy and authority.
64. See, e.g., Joint Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Science, Research and Technology of the
Comm. on Science and Technology and the Task Force on Education and Employment of the Comm.
on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, 98th Cong., 1st Sess. 634-36 (1983) (testimony of
Linda M. Lampkin, Director of Research, American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, in Technology and Employment).
65. In part, the literature lacks analytical precision because skill levels are difficult to define and
measure. For instance, how do the physical skill requirements of a craft job compare with the
mentation of work if jobs become more routine, interchangeable, and

strictly monitored in order to lower costs and better control the produc-
tion process. This could result in work becoming increasingly repetitious
and boring with workers whose skills are under-utilized displaying
higher levels of job dissatisfaction and reduced productivity. Little op-
portunity for advancement may exist. Gaps in skills level progression
may occur as mid-level blue-collar jobs (for example, moderately skilled
machine operator, welder, or assembler) disappear, resulting in gaps in
the promotion process from lower to higher skilled jobs. Organizations
may be restructured and characterized by the emergence of the control
room executive. Recentralization of decision-making may occur with
top management making strategic decisions and plans with a significant
increase in delegated authority to first level management. A significant
loss of opportunity for worker individuality and judgment could occur in
organizations where highly skilled work and better compensated jobs are
being transferred to an elite group of employees. In other words, creative
decision-making may be centralized at the top of firms. If so, the stratifi-
cation of the work force will likely generate frustration, anger, and alien-
ation on the part of those who expect upward mobility.
V
The impact of the microelectronics revolution on employment and
the nature of work in the twenty-first century will result from technologi-
cal improvements which increase the application of microelectronic tech-
nology. What will happen as quantum leaps occur in the speed and
accuracy with which machines perform their tasks? The answer lies in
the realm of speculation; hopefully intelligent speculation.
mental skill requirements of a professional job? For discussion of the deskilling problem see e.g.,
Levin & Rumberger, High-Tech Requires Fewer Brains, Wash. Post, Jan. 30, 1983, at C5; Forecast-
ing: HearingsBefore the Subcomm. on Investigations and Oversight of the Comm. on Science and
Technology, 98th Cong., 1st Sess. 76-80 (1983) (statement of Judith Gregory, Research Director, 9 to
5, National Association of Working Women). For robot operators, the incongruency between job
activities of monitoring and worker preference may generate boredom and stress. R. AYRES & S.
MILLER, supra note 9, at 95. See also Glenn & Feldberg, ProletarianizingClerical Work- Technol-
ogy and OrganizationalControl, in CASE STUDIES IN THE LABOR PROCESS (A. Zimbalist ed. 1979);
H. MENZIES, WOMEN AND THE CHIP: CASE STUDIES OF THE EFFECTS OF INFORMATICS ON EM-
PLOYMENT IN CANADA (1981). The monitoring of each word processing operator's output and
instantaneously comparing productivity among workers is examined in Arnold, Birke, & Faulkner,
Women and Microelectronics: The Case of Word Processors, 4 WOMEN'S STUD. INT'L Q. 321 (Fall
1981). Furthermore, high technology industries provide jobs with little or no knowledge of high
technology, i.e., clericals, secretaries, assemblers, and warehouse personnel. In the electronic com-
ponents industry, for example, 15% of the workers were employed in engineering, science and com-
puter occupations in 1980; the majority were assigned to low-wage assembly work. Riche, Hecker,
& Burgan, High Technology Today and Tomorrow. A Small Slice of the Employment Pie, 106
MONTHLY LAB. REV. 50, 54 (Nov. 1983).
Several features of future advances in microelectronic technology

are presently apparent. First, robots will be developed with a vision sys-
tem and touch sensitive arms. They will thus become more capable of
identifying and selecting parts and maintaining a high degree of
repeatability. As a result, robots will be even more widely used on the
66
assembly line.
In addition to technological advances, the cost of robots will decline
relative to the cost of labor they replace. The volume of robots being
produced will rise. Robots will be programmed to make a variety of
products and, therefore, be useful through a number of product transfor-
mations. Changing a disk will prepare a robot to make a new product.
With increased robot flexibility, corporate financial officers will accept a
longer payback period and corporate accounting departments will pres-
ent less of a barrier to the spread of robotics.
Increased robot functions and flexibility may increase the number of
workers displaced by a single robot. Instead of each robot replacing
three workers, based on the average displacement per robot of 1.5 work-
ers per shift and a two shift operation, 67 each robot may replace at least
five or ten people. 68 For instance, based on second-generation robots
which can be used in assembly operations, West Germany's Com-
merzbank estimates that half of the jobs held by that country's 1,200,000
production line workers may be at risk. 69 In short, increased functions
and lower costs of future robots will likely result in more usage and
greater worker displacement.
Second, with the development of artificial intelligence, i.e., computer
simulation of human intelligence, computers will rival, and perhaps sur-
pass their human progenitors. 70 Today's computers can handle 10,000 to
100,000 logical inferences per second; the next-generation of computers
will be capable of 100 million to 1 billion logical inferences per second.
These computers will be capable of intelligent reasoning (including draw-
66. OTA, supra note 7, at 89-92; R. AYRES & S. MILLER, supra note 9, at 60-63, 319-33;
Holusha, Robots That 'See' and 'Feel',N.Y. Times, June 6, 1985, at D2, col. 1.
67. W. LEONTIEF & F. DUCHIN, supra note 36, at 4.41. See also R. AYRES & S. MILLER, supra
note 9, at 72-73; Buss, High-Tech Track, Wall St. J., Apr. 13, 1983, at 1, col. 6. Offsetting this
worker displacement is the need for robot technicians. One robot technician may be required for
each six robots per shift. W. LEONTIEF & F. DUCHIN, supra note 36, at 4.41. See also Freedman,
Behind Every Successful Robot Is A Technician, N.Y. Times, Oct. 17, 1982, § 12, at 34, col. 3. In
two shift operations, two robot technicians are required for every six robots.
68. Draper, supra note 8, at 46, 50. The greater displacement rate results from the increased
productivity and flexibility of future robots.
69. Id.
70. E. FEIGENBAUM & P. MCCORDUCK, THE FIFTH GENERATION: ARTIFICIAL INTELLI-
GENCE AND JAPAN'S COMPUTER CHALLENGE TO THE WORLD (1983). See also OTA, supra note 7,
at 83-87.
ing inferences and offering conclusions) and will be able to interact with
people using natural language and pictures. Compared to today's com-
puters, the next-generation computers will be what automobiles are to
bicycles. Once computers surpass humans, they will be capable of their
own design and will be reproductive. To a large extent, microelectronics
will replace human minds in the Third Industrial Revolution, just as
steam replaced human muscle in the Second Industrial Revolution.
The advances in and the diffusion of microelectronics technology in
the twenty-first century point to ever increasing job displacement. As
robots become more advanced and offices become more automated the
labor force displacement impact could be enormous. The number of fac-
tory and office workers needed for the production of most goods and
services will become insignificant. Automation of the factory and office
will reduce the necessary work time. A worker who loses his or her job
in one industry will not necessarily find employment in another industry.
The long-term technological unemployment will be characterized by a
bigger proportion of the labor force being incapable of fitting into the
economic process because it lacks the literacy and math skills to work
with the new technology. Low wage scales abroad, cheap communica-
tions, and the rapid diffusion of technology may render U.S. labor-inten-
sive industry unable to grow fast enough to absorb the unemployed.
In Western society, work has traditionally been the basis of status,
and the measure of an individual's worth. What will happen as work
becomes less available? A society with excess productive capacity and
plentiful labor is unable to attain its goal of full employment. Studies
have indicated the adverse impact of unemployment on an individual is
manifested in terms of negative feelings of self-worth and a loss of self-
esteem, destruction of an individual's concept of his social and economic
roles in society, and an increase in boredom, social strife and political
71
and economic alienation.
If the concept of work becomes meaningless in several generations,
one of three scenarios may unfold: (1) free market; (2) Keynesian; or
(3) human needs. 72 In the free market approach, there is no change in
societal values and no government intervention in the market, resulting
in a decrease in the overall quality of life. The Keynesian approach ad-
71. Much evidence links unemployment to emotional problems, alcoholism, drug use, and
crime. See, e.g., M. AIKEN, L.A. FERMAN, & H.L. SHEPART, ECONOMIC FAILURE, ALIENATION,
AND EXTREMISM (1968); L.A. FERMAN & J. GARDNER, ECONOMIC DEPRIVATION, SOCIAL MOBIL-
ITY AND MENTAL HEALTH (1979).
72. Various scenarios are developed by A. GORZ, PATHS TO PARADISE: ON THE LIBERATION
FROM WORK (1983); J. ROBERTSON, THE SANE ALTERNATIVE: A CHOICE OF FUTURES (rev. ed.
1983).
vocates governmental intervention in the market to preserve the status

quo of the quality of life. The human needs approach advocates a change
in societal values which improves the quality of life. However, this ap-
proach is the most difficult to implement because both individual and
group social values must change. Of these three approaches, the human
needs model best accomplishes an overall benefit to society.
In the free market scenario, automated factories and offices will not
only reduce the number of workers but also abolish potential buyers of
goods and services. A vast number of unemployed workers, in excess of
the unemployment in the depths of the Great Depression, may coexist
with an ever smaller strata of more-or-less permanently employed indi-
viduals. A growing gap may unfold between the elite who work at inter-
esting jobs and the rejected who lack a permanent job. 73 The elite will
likely regard the unemployed as social inferiors, increasingly unworthy
of participation in social institutions. As social outcasts, the unemployed
may survive precariously on grudgingly given charity, crime, the under-
ground economy, and a desperate effort to sell domestic or sexual serv-
ices to well-paid workers, corporate executives, professionals, and the
self-employed. Poverty and opulence may go hand in hand. Feelings of
social inferiority and inadequacy coupled with contempt displayed by the
employed toward the unemployed may result in the physical separation
of workers and non-workers, a sort of employment apartheid.
The Social Welfare-Keynesian approach may take one of two paths
to deal with the ever mounting levels of unemployment and the under-
class of individuals who never will have a permanent job at a living wage
rate. On one hand, the government could institute mandatory regula-
tions, which either require or prohibit certain citizen behaviors. On the
other hand, the government could encourage and promote the desired
behaviors through rewards and incentives. Either approach rests on the
assumption that government intervention is necessary to resolve the
problems caused by massive unemployment.
Faced with mounting job displacement, the government could pur-
sue a number of mechanisms to mandate the distribution and sharing of
available jobs. For example, substantial unemployment benefits could be
cast in the form of early retirement 74 or a limitation on work by people
within certain age limits.7 5 In addition, compulsory education could be
extended to delay entry into the work force, and military service and
73. K. VONNEGUT, PLAYER PIANO (1952).

74. The government could mandate early retirement at age 50 or 55.
75. The government could, for example, proscribe work by individuals under age 21 or over age
youth service could be imposed on all citizens. Furthermore, available

jobs could be shared. Two or three people may share one job, since the
more automated a task, the easier it is for different people to perform it.
Alternatively, the work week could be reduced. For example, thirty,
twenty and then ten hour work weeks may become the norm. The gov-
ernment could subsidize work sharing and reduced work weeks by al-
lowing individuals working partial shifts or partial work weeks to collect
unemployment benefits for the part of the work week they are not actu-
ally on the job. Finally, only one person per "household" could be al-
lowed to work. 76 In short, the government could intervene to distribute
the available work and the accompanying income by deciding who will
work and on what basis.
Another alternative, government promotion of consumption, would
follow the more directly Keynesian model. 77 The Keynesian system is
based on several principles: 1) mass consumption is necessary not only
to enable all members of society to enjoy a high standard of living, but
also to support mass production in an industrial society; 2) mass con-
sumption requires the mass distribution of purchasing power; 3) full em-
ployment creates the mass distribution of purchasing power and
therefore general prosperity; and finally, 4) it is a function of government
to promote full employment through promoting mass consumption and
economic growth. Thus, the traditional Keynesian model seeks to pro-
mote, rather than dictate, economic growth and prosperity as a means of
preserving the status quo of the quality of life.
Attention could be focused on structuring the political economy to
further encourage the consumption of goods and services. To prevent a
future economic collapse, the state could force a significant redistribution
of business profits. For example, the income tax system could be used as
a redistribution mechanism to enable individuals to continue to purchase
goods and services.
The state may also use the consumption of goods and services as a
sophisticated system of social control. 78 In the state-promoted consump-
tion model, the semblance of capitalism may remain, but its capitalistic
substance would be lost. Goods and services would not be produced ac-
cording to market signals to maximize profits. Instead, individuals
76. The government would, however, face the need to define the term "household" and then
police this limitation.
77. See generally J.M. KEYNES, THE GENERAL THEORY OF EMPLOYMENT, INTEREST, AND
MONEY (1936).
78. A. GORZ, supra note 72, at 32. See generally H. MARCUSE, ONE DIMENSIONAL MAN
(1964).
would be paid to consume to perpetuate social order and control. An

elite technocracy would run society, perhaps only with the aim of main-
taining social order and strengthening its control, while condemning
most people to dependency and an existence at the margin of society.
Under either Keynesian approach, mandate or promotion, the govern-
ment intervenes to stabilize the economy and preserve the status quo.
The human needs approach advocates a change in societal values in
order to improve the quality of life. The human needs approach centers
on the writings of Abraham Maslow who developed a hierarchical theory
of motivation based on mankind's biological propensities. 79 A hierarchy
of needs is postulated: physiological (the lowest), safety, social esteem
(which encompasses belonging, self-respect and the respect of others),
and self-actualization (the higher need) which is regarded as the fulfill-
ment of one's potential in life. The strongest (prepotent) needs must be
satisfied first. The lower needs (e.g., physiological) are inherently more
important than the higher needs and have a stronger influence on moti-
vating an individual's behavior. When one level of need is satisfied, at
least to some extent, the next level in the hierarchy emerges and becomes
the dominant influence on the individual. The pattern of increased satis-
faction and decreased importance repeats itself causing a greater impor-
tance of needs at the next higher level until the self-actualization level is
reached. Stated differently, greater satisfaction at one level leads to in-
creased need strength at the next higher level. Self-actualization, which
is perceived as attained late in life, encompasses a person's desire to
achieve his full potential. Self-actualization is characterized by a supe-
rior perception of reality, an increased acceptance of self, others and na-
ture, spontaneity, increased problem centering outside the individual,
autonomy, freshness of appreciation, richness of emotional reaction, im-
proved interpersonal relations, and increased creativity.
A dynamic self-generating system is envisaged in which individuals
become conscious of higher needs. A network of growing and developing
79. A. MASLOW, MOTIVATION AND PERSONALITY (2d ed. 1970) [hereinafter MOTIVATION];
A. MASLOW, TOWARD A PSYCHOLOGY OF BEING 30 (1968) [hereinafter PSYCHOLOGY]. Maslow
divided the hierarchy into deficiency motivated needs (physiological, safety, belonging, love, respect
and self-esteem) and growth motivated needs. Maslow notes, "[i]t is these [deficiency motivated]
needs which are essentially deficits in the organism, empty holes, so to speak, which must be filled up
for health's sake, and furthermore, must be filled up from without by human beings other than the
subject, that I shall call deficits or deficiency needs." PSYCHOLOGY, supra, at 22-23. The deficiency
needs are best known to psychologists because their frustration produces psychopathology. MOTI-
VATION, supra, at 2. The self-actualizers, motivated by growth needs, search for what Maslow called
"being" values and may encounter peak (transcendent, mystical) experiences in which, they re-
ported, larger meanings subsumed the self and its boundaries and limitations. MOTIVATION, Supra,
at 149-80.
personalities interacting in a variety of experiences constitutes society.

The good society thus provides the means for human growth. The un-
folding self-realization produces creative and beneficial results for both
the individual and humanity. Maslow notes, "self-actualizing people are,
without one single exception, involved in a cause outside their own skin,
in something outside themselves, and they are devoted, working at some-
thing which is very precious to them-some calling or vocation in the old
sense ... so that the work-joy dichotomy in them disappears." 80
The underlying principle of human growth implies a desire for inno-
vation and experimentation and a trust in the individual. The accent is
on developing new social structures and institutions which foster individ-
ual awareness and personal fulfillment. "Third" force psychologists and
neo-Freudian psychoanalysts perceive the world as an open-ended sys-
tem in which mankind has almost infinite potential. The humanistic
ideal sees humanity moving in a forward direction and seeking to maxi-
mize individual self-development and self-realization. The focus is on the
realization of capabilities and the attainment of "happiness."
In the next century, the full impact of the microelectronics revolu-
tion may force a reconsideration of work as the central activity of peo-
ples' lives. In the twenty-first century there likely will not be full-time
employment for a significant portion of the U.S. work force. Wages will
not depend on the amount of work performed; income will not be related
to work (or will be related to work in a different way). Few will be able
to survive on the wages received for the hours actually worked.
The diminution of work as a significant factor in human lives and a
high degree of individual idleness may lead to a reconsideration of values
and a reconceptualization of the concept of a life worth living. As the
crisis gets deep enough and the reduction of employment and work time
becomes even more general, the will to transform society may arise as a
result of a massive increase in the number of unemployed persons. As a
corollary, mechanisms will be developed to provide income independent
of any labor required for the production of goods and services, thereby
replacing a key social structure of the industrial era-individual depen-
dency on work and employer as the central organizing life force. The
present system of distributing income based on work may undergo revi-
sion. In short, the possibility exists that social institutions may be re-
structured to serve the entire hierarchy of human needs.
Within the context of the human needs approach, life may come to
be viewed not in terms of money or work time but time made productive
80. A. MASLOW, THE FARTHER REACHES OF HUMAN NATURE 43 (1971).

and creative. Disposable time enables individuals to enjoy life, to seek

recreation, and to improve their minds. Individuals may devote them-
selves to endeavors for the pleasure of creating, giving, and learning. The
quality of human relations and the values of cooperation, creativity, and
self-actualization may come to the fore. The abolition of the work ethic
may lead to human liberation, personal skill development 8 I and in-
82
creased social activity.
Since basic needs must be provided for before higher needs can be
fulfilled, existence for most people may come to depend on some form of
government-provided guaranteed income for life, such as a personal al-
lowance system. The guaranteed income concept raises three major is-
sues: (1) how to fund a guaranteed income; (2) whether the guaranteed
income will enable individual social development or foster passive con-
sumption; and (3) whether the new social order will collapse as people
will not want to work at all.
A tax on automated factories and offices could provide one means to
finance a guaranteed income for life. 83 A tax on robots and other types
of microelectronic equipment could be based on a unit of the output of
goods or services. The level of taxation could be geared to the type of
goods or services produced, depending on whether society wishes to pro-
mote or retard the consumption of this type of good or service.
A robot tax raises, in turn, three problems. First, the imposition of
this tax would decrease the cost differential between labor and robots,
thereby slowing the automation process. Stated differently, the robot tax
may make sense from the viewpoint of organized labor, but not from a
societal standpoint. Second, the imposition of a robot tax to fund a guar-
anteed income for life would increase the cost of production and slow the
automation process thereby retarding the international competitive posi-
tion of U.S. firms in driving production overseas. Third, who will make
the determination of what is socially useful or desirable consumption?
How will the determination be made? What criteria will be used? 84 The
81. Personal skill development could occur in a variety of areas, including arts, sports, and
continuing education.
82. Social activity could include greater participation in society's economic and political
spheres.
83. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS AND AEROSPACE WORKERS, THE ORIGI-
NAL REBUILDING AMERICA ACT 202-04 (1984) (proposing the imposition of a tax on machinery,
equipment, robots and production systems that displace workers and cause unemployment).
84. Perhaps society could arrive at a consensus with respect to basic human needs. A necessary
minimum might include "food sufficient in quantity and kind for health, palatable but without vari-
ety, uniform clothing adequate for all seasons, shelter on an individual, family and group basis, with
adequate conveniences for different environments; medical services and transportation." P. & P.
GOODMAN, COMMUNITAS 200-01 (2d ed. 1960). See also infra note 86.
answers to these questions may turn on the widescale acceptance of a

human needs orientation.
A lifetime guaranteed income independent of a job could be a social
wage based on consumption and passivity, a means to enable individual
and social development, or both a social wage and a means to enable
individual and social development. Below a certain income level, an in-
dividual would receive a specified payment from the state. The unem-
ployed, who have been marginalized by the microelectronic revolution,
would be made socially acceptable and be maintained at the least cost to
society. A lifetime guaranteed income in the form of a negative income
tax would permit the abolition of a variety of governmental benefits and
allowances and their attendant separate administrative systems, thereby
releasing funds to finance the lifetime guaranteed income system. 85
However, the individuals receiving the guaranteed income would remain
dependent on the state and would be expected to orient their lives around
the continued consumption of goods and services. This could result in
merely passive consumption. Alternatively, a guaranteed income for life
may be viewed as the product of a specified minimum amount of socially
useful labor which an individual provides throughout his or her lifetime.
Estimates place the lifetime amount of work to produce basic necessi-
ties 86 at 20,000 hours 87 or substantially less in a society characterized by
less competition and a more relaxed lifestyle. The 20,000 hours may rep-
resent ten years of full-time employment (at 2,000 hours per year),
twenty years of part-time work, or forty years of intermittent work com-
bining full-time and part-time employment, as well as periods for individ-
ual development and community activities.
Because income would be received and necessities would be pro-
vided for, each person could receive the same amount according to a
theory of equality. However, if each receives the same amount, those
with special or additional needs would suffer. Special needs could be
accommodated on the basis of general categories of people (e.g., the
85. See generally ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, NEGA-
TIVE INCOME TAX: AN APPROACH TO THE COORDINATION OF TAXATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE
POLICIES (1974). Advocates' thoughts of a guaranteed lifetime income in the form of a negative
income tax may be based on a desire to simplify and reduce government activity. M. FRIEDMAN,
CAPITALISM AND FREEDOM 190-95 (1962).
The guaranteed lifetime income system may also provide the basis for positive receptivity to
technological change. When it becomes apparent that the new technologies will affect more workers,
a general resistance to change may occur; the power of the resisters may increase. Human resistance
may take the form of stalling the process of change or imposing unreasonable penalties on it. Resist-
ance will prove self-defeating because firms will become noncompetitive and go out of business.
86. Basic necessities include durable, repairable goods and services which are functional and
economical in terms of the inputs of labor and natural resources. See also supra note 84.
87. A. GORZ, supra note 72, at 41.
aged) or payments could be based on individual need in accordance with

a theory of equity. However, individualized need payments raise the
spectre of expensive and complicated need determination tests.
The obligatory full-time or part-time lifetime work would be de-
voted to producing necessities. A guaranteed lifetime income would pro-
vide sufficient time for numerous activities and different ways of life
without economic objectives. Free time activities could be devoted to
fulfilling needs beyond economic necessities, partaking of interests and
skills8 8 or engaging in unnecessary superfluous activities which are not
anti-social. 8 9 Leisure could replace work in terms of prestige, identifica-
tion, the structure of time and as a means of attaining self-realization. 90
Disposable time may take the form of a prosumer society. 9' Indi-
viduals, families, and small groups may produce goods and services they
want to consume or exchange outside the market through barter and
trade, or even gifts. Individuals may reassert the sovereignty of their
needs and the means of satisfying them. Production of goods and serv-
ices may become more decentralized, with a significant proportion of
production centered in the household and the community. There may be
a merging of work and leisure as more people take a greater control of all
aspects of their lives. A trend to greater self-reliance may occur through
the growing use of small-scale technologies which people control for
themselves.
The path of leisure and spontaneous activity may not provide the
best alternative to self-realization. Segments of the population, such as
the children of autocrats or super rich, who have approached conditions
of "liberation" constitute some of the most frustrated and alienated citi-
zens. They fill their boredom and loneliness with alcohol and drugs. If a
majority of the population responds in this manner to increased leisure
88. The development of interests and skills could include, for example, sports, arts, music, or
volunteer activities.
89. See H. MARCUSE, EROS AND CIVILIZATION (1955) for the development of the view of an
effortless utopia in which technology replaces all necessary activity. For Marcuse, by eliminating the
"surplus repression" resulting from the social organization of labor imposed in the interest of domi-
nation, the entire body could again become a source of pleasure (polymorphous perversity). In the
new order, life becomes a spontaneous endeavor, where human bodies become organs of pleasure
with greater intensity and a variety of erotic experience. See also R. RICTA, CIVILIZATION AT THE
CROSSROADS (1969); D. RIESMAN, THE LONELY CROWD ch. XV (rev. ed. 1961) (autonomy in the
post-industrial world could be found in leisure, not work).
90. See, e.g., Dubin, Industrial Workers' Worlds: A Study of the 'Central Life Interest' ofIndus-
trial Workers, 3 Soc. PROBS. 140 (1958) (study of workers' central life interest in terms of expressed
preference for a given locale or situation in carrying out an activity. Although the workers evi-
denced a sense of attachment to their work and workplace, they were not committed to it. For three
out of four industrial workers surveyed, their self-actualization came in institutional settings outside
their work organization).
91. A. TOFFLER, THE THIRD WAVE ch. 20 (1980).
time, we may be back to the free market scenario, sketched earlier. This
scenario is characterized by the development of a technical elite which
controls and understands the new automated factories and offices. The
elite may keep the remainder of the population in a state of submissive
ignorance, thus impeding the realization of individual self-fufillment.
Based on the present use of leisure (that is, non-work) time, the
promise of considerably more free time appears less than encouraging as
a means for human growth and development. Today, many workers
crave leisure as a means of relaxation and regeneration-through the
elimination of mental and physical fatigue-from the uniformity and
fragmentation of jobs. As a mode of compensation for the nature of
work, it appears insufficient for individuals to be employed and to be
linked to life through leisure-time consumership. The pursuit of leisure
through passive activities dominated by consumption and the machinery
of amusement illustrates the illusory possession of non-work time. Lei-
sure has become organized, administered, institutionalized and commer-
cialized, spurring, in conjunction with the mass media and advertising,
the consumption that business so assiduously cultivates. 92 Rather than
achieving self-realization, many individuals kill time through monoto-
nous diversions. Intellectual capacity or excitement atrophies as gadgets
fill the emptiness of time. Education can, however, alter leisure pat-
terns. 93 Lifelong learning may come to be the form of education that
makes the most sense. Implicit in the human needs approach is the vi-
sion of people leading more educationally-oriented and less gadget-rid-
den lives.
Change may come voluntarily. As material goods are available to
more people, consumption may be satiated and items may lose their posi-
tions as status symbols. 94 However, new items may become future status
92. See Seligman, On Work, Alienation, and Leisure, 24 AM. J. ECON. & Soc., 337, 356-60
(1965); DE GRAZIA, OF WORK, TIME AND LEISURE (1964). C.W. MILLS, WHITE COLLAR 238
(1958) notes that work is made completely subservient to leisure for "leisure is the way to spend
money, [while] work is the way to make it. When the two compete, leisure wins hands down." A.
KORNHAUSER, MENTAL HEALTH OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORKER: A DETROIT STUDY 199-203,
266-67, 271 (1965) portrays the barrenness of leisure. One-half of the workers surveyed had no
hobby or special interest to occupy their spare time. Active and meaningful leisure was reported by
less than 15% of the workers surveyed. The workers, in groping for meaningful ways to fill spare
time without a conception of the possibilities, emphasize consumption, not self-development.
93. See Wilensky, Mass Society and Mass Culture: Interdependence or Independence, 29 AM.
Soc. REV. 173 (1964) (leisure styles of men with a short-hourwork day consists of compulsive ab-
sorption of large amounts of shoddy television as a time filler through a retreat to escapist violent
programs, but the great majority of men with a high quality college education display high leisure
competence).
94. Blumberg, The Decline and Fall of the Status Symbol. Some Thoughts on Status in a Post-
Industrial Society, 21 Soc. PROBS. 480, 486, 496-97 (1974).
symbols or a variety of means may be created to satisfy basic needs. If

this change is not voluntarily achieved, the government might take the
lead in restricting consumption. 95 For example, taxes could be imposed
on goods thought socially undesirable. The aim of voluntary or govern-
ment regulation of consumption would be the development of a subsis-
tence standard for all people. 96 This raises the problems of whether the
American people would be content with minimum levels of food, cloth-
ing, housing, and health care. As Fromm comments, "[i]f consumption
were to be reduced, a good deal of anxiety would become manifest. The
resistance against possible arousal of anxiety would result in the unwill-
ingness to reduce consumption. ' 97 Together with a reduction of con-
sumption, society could promote or require lifelong continuing education
as a social palliative and a means of furthering a human needs
orientation.
People guaranteed an income for life may not want to work at all if
not forced to do so. If so, the new social order may collapse. With the
abolition of compulsion to work full-time for forty or fifty years, an indi-
vidual may want to work because it makes him or her feel useful to soci-
ety. Work also provides a means of escape from conformity and
narrowness of a family or other domestic unit or a community. For ex-
ample, it provides a way to meet other people and form relationships not
based on a regulated world in which everyone is limited to his or her
allocated place. Finally, in an automated society, the issue of work in-
centives would not arise at all. In sum, automation opens the possibility
of a society filled with promises and pitfalls.
CONCLUSION
The workless society of the twenty-first century is not to be feared.

The workless society of ancient Greece, in which citizens were neither
expected nor encouraged to work, gave rise to the beginning of modern
arts and sciences. Freeing citizens from the need to make a living ena-
bled creativity to flourish in widely different fields. Learning, fulfillment,
and all social institutions were "directed to this end. This is what the
Athenians did .... They made their society one designed to bring all the
members to the fullest development of their highest powers .... In Ath-
ens, education was not a segregated activity, conducted for certain hours,
95. Society must, of course, reach a consensus as to whether the government should promote or
restrict consumption.
96. P. & P. GOODMAN, supra note 84, at 200-01.
97. E. FROMM, THE REVOLUTION OF HOPE 124 (1968). See also P. & P. GOODMAN, supra
note 84, at 212-13.
in certain places, at a certain time of life. It was the aim of society." 98 In

short, lifelong learning may take place in all of society's institutions.
Future generations may enjoy a similar experience. The workless
society of the future may give rise to an unparalleled period of creativity
and originality, and enable people to fulfill a broad range of their needs.
98. R. HUTCHINS, THE LEARNING SOCIETY 134-35 (1968).

NOTES
&
COMMENTS

The Microelectronics Revolution Job Displacement and The Future PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Microelectronics Revolution Job Displacement and The Future PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Volume 63 | Issue 1 Article 4

The Microelectronics Revolution, Job

Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview

and society in the twenty-first century need to be considered.' This essay

information with a minimum of human intervention-the hoped for

A key development in production operations and machinery is the

A number of reasons exist for businesses to install robots in facto-

11. R. AYRES & S. MILLER, supra note 9, at 70-78.

tion. Computer-assisted design and engineering will be integrated with

cant competitive advantages in the international market. Ultimately,

nology on employment is premised on several arguments.

simists express doubts as to whether the economy will grow at a sufficient

4) the decisions of multinational corporations 32 and the competitive

sion of microelectronic technology appears to be much less than pessi-

48. W. LEONTIEF & F. DUCHIN, supra note 36, at 1.31-1.33.

of U.S. employment. 5 1 Direct displacement by the utilization of

ographical aspects of job displacement; and 3) changes in the character of

skilled workers doing routine jobs in metalworking and other traditional

mentation of work if jobs become more routine, interchangeable, and

Several features of future advances in microelectronic technology

vocates governmental intervention in the market to preserve the status

73. K. VONNEGUT, PLAYER PIANO (1952).

youth service could be imposed on all citizens. Furthermore, available

would be paid to consume to perpetuate social order and control. An

personalities interacting in a variety of experiences constitutes society.

80. A. MASLOW, THE FARTHER REACHES OF HUMAN NATURE 43 (1971).

and creative. Disposable time enables individuals to enjoy life, to seek

answers to these questions may turn on the widescale acceptance of a

aged) or payments could be based on individual need in accordance with

symbols or a variety of means may be created to satisfy basic needs. If

The workless society of the twenty-first century is not to be feared.

in certain places, at a certain time of life. It was the aim of society." 98 In

98. R. HUTCHINS, THE LEARNING SOCIETY 134-35 (1968).

You might also like